QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge Of Searcher Behavior

As we all know, search engine optimization is all about optimizing a website for people who use search engines. The human part of SEO is equally (if not more) important than the technical aspects of SEO. So it’s important to understand Web searcher goals and behaviors, and then to adapt your website content to accommodate those goals.

How well do you know Web searchers? How do you know which data sources are best for understanding searcher goals and behaviors?

I created this short quiz to make sure that all players on your SEO team are on the proverbial same page. (Answers are at the bottom of the page…no cheating!)

1. The word “login” is strong indicator of what type of Web searcher intent?

Navigational

Informational

Transactional

Commercial

All of the above

2. If a Web searcher types in the keyword phrase “benjamin franklin pics” (without the quotes) into a search box, that type of query intent is classified as:

Answers To Searcher Behaviors Quiz

1. A – Navigational. In order for a person to login, he/she must go to a specific website in order to login to it. This word often appears with other keywords, such as the official company or organization name, or all or part of a domain name.

2. C – Transactional. Even though the searcher might want to see a variety of pictures or photographs of Benjamin Franklin, the words words photographs (and its derivatives) and pictures (and its derivatives) indicate that the searcher wants to engage in the activities of look, see, or view. Not all transactional keywords are verbs.

3. E – All of the above. A category page normally contains a list of items. A how-to page answers a question about a topic. FAQs pages typically answer multiple questions about a topic. And the word reviews indicates that a searcher wants to read multiple reviews about a product and/or service. Reading, knowing, and learning goals are informational goals.

4. False. Unfortunately, there are no cut-and-dry conclusions that can be derived from bounce rates and page views per visitor. The answer depends on searcher context.

For example, if a Web searcher’s goal is to find the store hours of his preferred pharmacy, and he finds that information (quick fact) immediately, then his searcher goal is complete without having to view multiple pages. On the flip side, viewing multiple pages can indicate that the Web searcher is lost on a website, especially if pogo-sticking click paths are followed.

5. E – Profitable. Even though website usability is balancing business goals with user expectations, a website should provide value to searchers/users. Search engine spam, for example, does not provide value to either search engines or Web searchers.

6. G – Both B and D. Keyword research tools, log file data, Web analytics data, and even site search analytics can reveal what people search for and how people search. They can also reveal how searchers interact with search engine results pages (SERPs) and other web pages. Ultimately, direct human-researcher interaction with web searchers is needed to determine the whys of searcher goals and behaviors.

7. False. According to researchers at Virginia Tech, finding goals and behaviors are more exploratory in nature and have a degree of uncertainty, whereas re-finding is more directed. Web searchers know that desired content is available because they have probably seen it previously; therefore, re-finding relies on both recognition and recall.

8. C – Perceptions through peripheral vision. According to usability guru Jakob Nielson and Kara Pernice in their book Eyetracking Web Usability, users get desired information with peripheral vision. They might not focus on a page element because they believe the element is not needed for the immediate task at hand (search bar, ads, items that look like ads, etc.)

Additionally, usability expert and author Dr. Susan Weinschenk said that people sometimes choose to not fixate on an item because their peripheral vision indicated that the item was not easily decipherable. And she said that it is possible for people to be looking at one thing and actually pay attention to something nearby.

9. B – Ad hoc search. A known-item search is similar to an ad hoc search but the target of the search is a particular document, or a small set of documents, that the searcher knows to exist in the collection and wants to find again. Site finding is similar to known-item searching because the searcher is looking for a particular website.

However, with a known-item query, the searcher has already visited the site previously. With site finding, the searcher might want to go to a known or an unknown website. With an entry page query, web searchers’ desired content is a central page of an organization—a page that functions as the portal of information.

10. True. Orienting is a behavior whereby users/searchers determine their position in a website with reference to another point—establishing a sense of place. It occurs naturally during the browsing and searching processes. Web searchers quickly scan the top screen of the results page (from top to bottom) to ensure that they have been delivered to the most appropriate page (orientation) before reading individual search listings (ads, organic, and blended listings).

How did your SEO team do? Are there any questions or answers you think should be added, deleted, or edited? Fill out some comments below and let me know.

About The Author

Shari Thurow

Shari Thurow is the Founder and SEO Director at Omni Marketing Interactive and the author of the books Search Engine Visibility and When Search Meets Web Usability. Shari currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Information Architecture Institute (IAI) and the ASLIB Journal of Information Management. She also served on the board of the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA).

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